The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) strongly believe that this Goal 8 is crucial in ensuring that workers around India are treated fairly and have access to decent work, since this goal enshrines the Decent Work Agenda in the 2030 Agenda and is crucial to achieve sustainable economic growth with fair living wage, access to occupational health safety, secured employment, and universal social protection floors for all.
The frame of the SDGs and Goal 8 has enabled INTUC to organise such activities as awareness raising workshops and training sessions on the SDGs and on the key role that trade unions and workers can play in eliminating poverty and achieving decent work and fair living wages.
INTUC has also been engaged in advocacy efforts to promote policies and practices that promote the SDGs, and support decent work and economic growth nationally and regionally.
In light of this, INTUC makes particular effort to advocate fair living wages for informal workers and agriculture and rural workers. The organisation believes that all informal and agriculture and rural workers should receive a fair living wage that allows them to support themselves and their families.
This advocacy work includes engaging with government officials, employers and farmers, and promoting fair living wage policies, as well as supporting collective bargaining efforts to negotiate fair wages and social security benefits for workers.
Most recently, the Telangana State Branch of INTUC and the Auto Workers Union launched a new initiative to support unemployed in need of driving licence to improve their chances to find an employment by offering them electric car driving training. Through its Workers Welfare Cooperative Society, INTUC is also offering loans to help women purchase their own auto rickshaws, enabling them to start their own business and achieve financial independence. The loans will be offered at low interest rates, with flexible repayment options, to ensure that women are able to repay the loan without facing undue financial burden.
In addition, INTUC has been working on improving working conditions for workers in the different States of India. This includes advocating for safe and healthy working environments, promoting organic farming by avoiding pesticides and fertilisers, defending workers’ rights and protections, and fighting against practices such as child labour and gender inequality.
Overall, INTUC’s investment in making the SDGs an integral part of its trade union work is providing a strong base on which to strengthen and articulate our work in favour decent work and economic growth for all. This way of working has resulted in the creation of an Advocacy Committee of Unorganised Workers, with the mandate of advocating fair living wages for informal workers and rural workers.